Willie Taggart needs to win quickly at FSU.
Taking over for Jimbo Fisher will be no easy task for new head coach Willie Taggart. He needs to win big and win quickly if he’s going to be a success at Florida State. If that’s going to happen, Taggart will need quarterback Deondre Francois to be at his best.
Much to Taggart’s credit, he seems to realize how important the young signalcaller is to his program. Francois was the first player he called on his way to Tallahassee in December. Taggart delivered an emphatic message to his young quarterback that needs to become a much better decision-maker off the field.
In January, police were called to Francois’ home about a potential domestic disturbance between he and his pregnant girlfriend. No charges were filed. Unfortunately for Taggart and FSU fans, Francois’ interactions with the police didn’t end there. In April, Francois was cited for marijuana possession by local police after being watched for over two months. Local police claimed they’d been given a tip that Francois was dealing drugs. For the record, there was no evidence to substantiate the claims that he was actually selling marijuana.
Neither of those two incidents reflect positively on Francois. They are doubly concerning given the fact that Taggart wants his quarterback to serve as the leader of his team. The reality is Taggart’s first season in charge of the ‘Noles will largely rest on Francois’ ability to get healthy and lead the FSU offense.
Ostensibly Francois will compete with James Blackman in preseason to try to win the job. Francois likely won’t participate in spring drills and he continues to recover from the patellar tendon injury that cost him almost all of last season. That means Francois will be under serious pressure once fall camp starts to prove he’s ready to go.
Florida State fans better hope he manages a full recovery in time to take on Virginia Tech. Taggart’s first game in charge will feature his team taking on the Hokies in primetime on September 3rd. If Francois doesn’t start that game under center than Taggart may be in for a rough season.
The reality is Francois is the only quarterback on the FSU roster who can really run the sort of attack Taggart wants to employ. His offenses at Western Kentucky, South Florida and Oregon were all predicated on quarterbacks who could threaten defenses on the ground and through the air. Blackman can certainly sit in the pocket and make some nice throws, but he’s nowhere near the threat Francois can be out on the edge.
Look for Taggart to continue to play lip service to the idea that Blackman and Francois are battling for the position all the way up until the season begins. He’s smart enough to understand that Francois needs to feel some pressure to stay on a straight and narrow path.
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This isn’t a real quarterback race in Taggart’s mind, though. He’ll give Francois every opportunity to win the job. He has to realize that his initial success at Florida State is largely dependent on the immature quarterback’s immense ability to make plays.